God in the Dark
The setting sun poured down the seams of the mountains as I drove the same route I had taken for four years in college. But this time was different. My six-year-old daughter now sat in the back, and she was
Let Your Light Shine
This spring, at a conference in Ontario, I prayed for a woman who was entering a new, challenging phase of her ministry. Afterward, she held my shoulders—her short, dark brown curls bobbing—and looked into my eyes. “You are a firefly,”
Getting What I Want
My baby girl, fourteen months, had roseola the other week. Her fever hovered around 103 for days, and she was lethargic with very little appetite. Therefore, whenever she would rouse herself long enough to point at something she thought looked
The Creek Bank of Life
Last Sunday, I took my middle daughter, almost four, to the creek near our house to look for arrowheads and fossils. We always make our girls wear water shoes in the creek, so they don’t cut their feet on the
He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands
The chipper Vanderbilt receptionist couldn’t find my husband’s information. After a few minutes, I apologized to the senior couple, standing beside us, who were next in line. They wore comfortable, ironed clothes in various shades of tan that complemented their
The Snail Shell of the Soul
I heard a thunk and returned to the kitchen. My two eldest daughters stood at the patio door and stared down at a female cardinal outside on its back. Its large, orange beak opened and closed as snow flurries clung
Who’s Immortal Now?
My husband and I silently sat in our wooden booth, waiting for our breakfast to arrive. It was only 10 o’clock, but we’d been awake for five hours and were still trying to process what the neurosurgeon had said. Though my husband’s
Humans of Tennessee
Three years ago, almost to the day, I purchased two tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but my husband ended up needing brain surgery instead. I remember being on the phone for hours, trying to get our tickets reimbursed, like
“I Hated Orange Beach”
Yesterday, my eldest daughter said she hated Orange Beach. I only remembered laughing while zooming down the slide, sitting in the hot-tub to warm up after my daughters and I swam in one of the resort’s chilly pools, or peering into
Guest Post + GIVEAWAY by New York Times Bestselling Author Julie Cantrell!
My path first crossed Julie Cantrell's in February 2012. Our mutual friend, River Jordan, sent her my debut, The Outcast. Being the incredibly kind individual she is, Julie took time to read a stranger's story and sent me a wonderful